Through The Years-Ben and Laura
by laurasplatt
Summary: Hey guys it's @laurasplatt from wattpad and I decided to publish my best one shot on here!


DISCLAIAR: I know that Laura has a boyfiend and Ben might be gay. My Wattpad is @laurasplatt and my cowriter's **@_obsessing**

June, 25th,2017

Ben knocked on Laura's apartment door, without her knocking he was coming over. Laura was up and knew he would be coming over for breakfast, but not at 6:15 in the morning. It had been three years together, but two months public.

Laura opened the doors, and Ben kissed her immediately. The kiss had caught Laura by surprise. After about five seconds Laura pulled away. "What-What are you doing this early?" She said worried. "It's been three years, and I want to spend so much of today with my favorite girl." He said pulling her close.

Laura smiles, her cheeks turning red. "Well, that's really sweet of you. Um, I didn't really start breakfast yet."

"Do you want help?" He said letting her go leaving her unbalanced.

"Of course." Laura nods, grabbing Ben's hand and reading him into the kitchen.

He laughed a little, and then stopped instantly.

"What, love? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

Laura furrows her eyebrows at him. "You promise?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

Laura smiles softly. "Of course not. Come on, I'm hungry!"

"Go sit down." He said jokingly. Ben made breakfast in twenty minutes. He brought it to her, "Here." He said giving her a plate and sitting next to her with a plate of his own.

"Thank you so much, babe. But I would've helped you. You know that." Laura tells him, sighing.

"I know that, but I wanted to give you a break. You're always doing things for me."

Laura grins at her boyfriend. She leans over the table to kiss him. "You truly are the most amazing man I've ever met."

"And you are truly the most amazing woman I've ever met," he said kissing her lightly.

The pair eventually settle down to eat breakfast, making small talk about what to do that day.

"Laura, how do you feel about going to over to the country part of New York? Where we met."

"Ben, that sounds incredibly romantic. I'd love to."

"What do you want to do today?"

"Well, if we're gonna go upstate then I think we should go to that restaurant we really like. That could be fun."

"When do you want to leave?"

"I'd just like to change my clothes and then I'm good to leave." Laura grins, jumping up, kissing Ben's cheek, then running to her bedroom.

He waited, and was on his phone talking to his best friend, Ian. They were texting each other about Laura's surprise.

"Ben! I'm ready!"

He her out to the car, and it took them about two and a half hours to drive upstate. He took her to a forest, where they met. He took her by a tree.

"Remember this?" Laura smiles, placing her hand against the rough bark.

"Yes, I do. Very well."

"Met here, has our first kiss here, first I love you here." Laura leans her back against the trunk of the tree, Ben's hands resting on her waist.

"I fell in love with you here, and you told me that you fell in love with me when I was in Pitch Perfect." He said not moving from their position.

"That was so long ago, it feels like." Laura smiles, her mind seemingly replaying that wonderful day.

He let's go of her waist and backs up. "Laura, I-I'm in love with you. You're the only one who makes me feel special. You're my favorite person ever. I'm so happy that I get to fall in love with you in real life and on stage. Even though sometimes you have to fall in love with Colton. A-Anyway, you and I have something special, and I want to continue and go on, um..a different adventure." He takes a deep breath, and gets down on one knee, and holds one of her hands. "Laura Cathrine Dreyfuss, will you do the honor of becoming my wife?" He said feeling a bit of anxiety come across him.

Laura feels as though her heart stops. Her breath catches in her throat and her mind completely blanks. "O-Oh my god, Ben."

"Are you okay?" He said making sure he didn't possibly give her a heart attack.

"Yes, Ben, oh my god. Yes, I'll be your wife!"

He stands up with no hesitation puts the ring on her finger. He kisses her lightly on the lips.

"I love you so much!" Laura hiccups, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I love you too. Why are you crying?" He asked holding her

"Because I'm so happy. We're gonna spend the rest of our lives together! I'm gonna be your wife and you'll be my husband!"

"You always told me that if we ever married we would get married right near this forrest."

"That would be absolutely perfect, Ben. And we could put white fairy lights in all the trees and these pretty lanterns that-"

"That what?"

"What do you see for our wedding, Ben?"

"I don't really see anything."

"Do you not wanna get married here then?"

"No, Laura I do! It's just that I don't have a vision."

Laura sighs, resting her head against Ben's shoulder. "I just can't believe we're gonna get married after so long."

"I know," he said kissing her cheek, but she turns her head. Which makes him kiss her on the lips.

Ben chuckles, shaking his head. Laura blushes. "Sorry, I just wanted to kiss you again."

"That was wrong, Laura." He said in jokingly kind of way. "Hey so the cast wants to go to that restaurant we like to go to. How would you feel about them tagging along?"

"Absolutely! And we can even tell them about the engagement!"

"They kind of already know.."

"You told them?!"

"I told them that I was going to do this!"

Laura sighs. She could tell that Ben was extremely nervous to propose to her, and it warmed her heart to know he went to their closest friends for help.

"Do you want to leave now? It's only 10:34."

"Let's go. I wanna see everyone!"

"Laura, they said that they wouldn't there 'till 12:30."

Laura pouts, sighing again. "Right. You choose what to do!"

"Laura! What are you talking about?"

"I want you to choose what to do. I don't really mind. I just wanna spend time with my amazing fiancé." Laura grins, pressing her lips to Ben's cheek.

"Laura, why don't we just take a walk?"

"Okay." Laura nods, holding Ben's hand tightly.

He took her away from the tree carefully. Then they started walking with her with her head on his chest.

"I feel like we never get time together. We've both been so busy lately with the show and with interviews. It's so nice to be able to spend time with you, love." Laura murmurs.

He stops and looks at her. "Shut up." He said with a grin. He kissed her still with a grin on his face.

"Cheeky." Laura teases, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"You know you're adorable?" He asked wrapping his arms around her neck, then kissing her.

"You're amazing." Laura mumbles against his lips, melting into his embrace.

"No, I'm not you are,' He said mumbling back, still kissing her. Their bodies were about two inches apart.

He pulled away and moved up a little bit. "Let's start walking!"

Laura grabs Ben's hand and leads him off.

"So, I haven't seen you in a few days. "What did you do yesterday?"

"I went out shopping with Kristolyn yesterday. Then we met up with Mike and Will for dinner."

"Who killed who?" He said jokingly.

"Will and Kristolyn, pretty much. Those idiots wouldn't stop arguing." Laura laughs, remembering the two arguing over which is better; tequila or vodka.

"What were they arguing about?"

"Will thinks tequila is better, but Kristolyn thinks vodka is. Words were said, drinks got thrown, and shit went down." Laura explains, shaking her head.

He starts laughing, "You've got to be fucking kidding me. Vodka is obviously better."

"Mm, I don't know about that. Tequila is pretty great." Laura argues back.

"It's all great, to be honest. I can't believe we're doing this."

"Yeah, let's not turn into Will and Kristolyn." Laura laughs. "Mike isn't here to pull us apart when we start yelling."

He starts laughing. "Well I had a five hour dinner with my brother."

"Then came home around 10:45 pm. Usually, I stay up for a few hours, and that's on show days. Which I get home around 1 am. It was just so freaking weird."

"That is weird." Laura laughs, squeezing her new fiancé's hand.

He took the love of his life's hand.

"I love you so much." Laura whispers to him.

"I love you too," Ben said whispering to her as well.

The two walk for a while more while reminiscing through their relationship, then realize it's time to meet the cast for dinner.

They drove over to the restaurant, and they were talking about random things with other members of the cast.

"So tell us all about how he proposed!" Kristolyn exclaims, pulling Laura, Rachel, and Jennifer to the side.

Mike and Ben were doing something else, Will walked in. "Oh no, Not the future marriage, that will end in divorce." Will said comedically.

"Haha, funny." Laura rolls her eyes at her friend, but hugs him anyway.

"How was your anniversary?"

"It was absolutely amazing." Laura smiles, suddenly slipping into a lovestruck daze.

"Laura, are you in love?" Olivia asked

"So in love." Laura practically whispers, grinning at her new fiancé.

He grinned back at her. "How'd he propose?" Kristoyln asked

"He proposed where we met, where we first said I love you. It's was so romantic, so amazing." Laura explains. "God, I love him so much."

"Gurl, you have a problem." Will says to her in a very Gay way.

"Being in love isn't a problem, Will." Laura rolls her eyes, shoving his shoulder. "Being in love is the best feeling I've ever felt. You just kinda feel like you're flying. You're always happy. It's amazing."

"Oh Jesus Christ you've got it bad."

"Normally, I'd punch you for being annoying, but yeah, I definitely do." Laura giggles.

"You have a problem, but Ben talking about you is even worse."

"Why? What has Ben been saying?" Laura's eyes light up at the thought of her boyfriend praising her.

"I'm not telling you that."

Laura pouts. "Why not? We're gonna get married. I wanna know everything he says. Please tell me, Will!"

"He just talks about how much he loves you and doesn't shut about it."

"That's so sweet!"

"A little too sweet."

"Will, you have a girlfriend. You love her. Don't you ever just wanna brag about how happy you are and how in love you are? Don't you wanna show other people that you've found your soul mate?"

"I have a girlfriend, but I don't see her that often. We've gone over this, she lives in L.A."

"It doesn't matter where she lives. What matters is that you love her more than anything."

"Laura, not anything."

"Will, are you unsure if you're even in love with her?"

"Laura, everyone has a different way of being in love."

"I know that everyone's version of love is different, Will." Laura explains. "Maybe one day you'll realize how much you love your girlfriend, and how you'll never be able to live without her."

"You're really funny Laura."

Will said sarcastically.

Laura leaves Will, going to find Ben.

He was on his phone very focused. Whenever Ben was focused on his phone Laura nibbled on his ear.

"What're you looking at, hmm?" Laura teases, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He yelped a little. "Nothing really." He said pulling away from her embrace.

"That's not very convincing, love."

"It's just a friend. Nothing big."

"Alright then. Stop looking at your phone and enjoy the moment, Ben. We just got engaged!"

"I know that but I'm kind of busy at the moment." He said and knew that he shouldn't have said that. Because whenever he said something like that, it triggered Laura.

"Busy? What do you mean you're busy?" Laura snaps, pulling away from his embrace and crossing her arms.

"I'm dealing with something."

"You're dealing with something? What the hell does that mean? And why can't you tell me? In case you've already forgotten, we're engaged to be married. Why can't you be honest with me?"

"My parents don't approve of our relationship and the idea of us getting married sickens them."

Laura's heart drops to her feet. Her breath gets caught in her throat and her mouth goes dry. "W-What? I thought we got along! I love your family? They don't like me?"

"Laura they don't like the idea of you and I being young and having such a serious relationship."

"Who cares how old we are? We love each other and wanna spend the rest of our lives together. There's nothing wrong with that!" Laura feels her eyes start to fill with tears, and some trickle down her cheeks. "This is not the way this night should be going."

"I know that, you know that. It's just that they can't see that. Laura, I love you so much and Nothing will ever change that."

"So are you gonna leave me then? They're your family after all. Fuck." Laura turns on her heel and goes to leave the restaurant.

He stops her and pulls her close. "I'm not leaving you. Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because your family doesn't want you with me. You love your family so much." Laura tries to resist his hold.

"You're more important for me. I don't need my family to approve of you. I just need you."

Laura sighs, resting her forehead against Ben's. "You'd do that for me? You'd be willing to ignore what your family wants, for me?"

"Laura, I'm in love with you. I-I uh, want to spend the rest of my life too you."

Laura smiles, nodding. "Okay, I can't thank you enough. I love you so, so much."

"I love you too." He said smiling like a puppy who just got picked up from the pound.

"Can we just enjoy the rest of our night, no distractions, nothing? I want to just be happy with you, love."

"Yeah, that sounds fun..do you still want to have lunch with the cast?"

"Of course." Laura nods. "I wanna spend time with them. I love them, and they're really happy for us."

"Then you want to leave them and just have us time?"

Laura laughs. "Let's have some us time. We don't have enough of that."

"We really don't." He said laughing as well, coming to realization.

"So let's go have some time for ourselves, love." Laura says, grabbing onto both of his hands. "I just want you, and no one else."

"Laura, I love you so very much. That's all I can say." He said leaving her in a confuzzled state of mind.

Laura laughs to herself, wondering how she got so lucky to have such an amazing guy like Ben.

He kind of snuck away to deal with things, but they weren't his parents they were everyday issues.

Laura couldn't be any more in love with Ben, and she can't wait to spend the rest of their lives together.

He came back a little while later and found her. "Hey..are you okay?"

"I'm okay, are you okay now?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just had to deal with something."

Laura sighs. "Ben, seriously?"

"Yeah, nothing you need to worry about though."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes 100%. So um...what do you want to do now?"

"Maybe we could just go home and just enjoy our time together. Some wine, a movie maybe."

"That actually sounds like a perfect night."

He said not thinking about the fact that they lived apart.

Ben drives home with his fiancé in the drivers seat, living arrangements floating through his busy brain.

Laura was staring at her phone very focused on her phone. Ben laughed a little bit at Laura becuase, whenever he was focused on his phone Laura would nibble on his ear.

"Don't laugh at me." Laura teases, punching Ben's arm.

"I'm not laughing." He joked with her.

Laura rolls her eyes, looking back down at her phone.

"Do you want to go back to your apartment or my apartment?" He asked about to enter the city.

Laura frowns, also remembering that they don't live together. "Let's go back to yours."

"Okay, that sounds fine." He said paying a toll to enter the city.

The ride back to the city is relatively quiet. Laura keeps her hand in Ben's the whole time, her body still feeling numb with excitement over being his future wife.

Once they got back to his apartmemt they cuddled on his couch. In addition to that they both had a glass of red wine. Then they both were on their phones.

Laura giggles as she scrolls through her Instagram feed. "Will and Kristolyn already posted about it."

"But Will doesn't have Instagram?" He asked confused.

Laura laughs again. "Oh, I'm stupid. Will was just in the picture Kristolyn posted."

"First of all, you're not stupid." He said getting up for a minute which met Laura told the world how it happened on her Instagram Story.

"Maybe ditzy is a better word."

Then he hid pretending like he was doing something. Then she started telling everyone on her Story how he proposed.

"Benjamin! Come relive it with me!" Laura laughs, walking around the apartment to try and find Ben.

"No!" He said sitting down next her.

"So rude." Laura says sarcastically into her phone, shaking her head.

He was on his phone when she started to talk.

Laura continues on with her story of the proposal, trying to get Ben to tell it with her, but ultimately failing.

He interrupts her. "Normally I would never do this, but she's fucking evil. Whenever I'm on My phone she'll nibble on my ear to get me to kiss her." He said knowing that she hated it when people cursed on her story.

"Oh my god! Ben! Language! Jesus!"

"You're mean to me."

"Coming from the one who just cursed on my Instagram story."

He laughed then noticed that she went live on Instagram.

"Hehe." She giggles once Ben realizes, watching as he rolls his eyes.

On the live a question had come up about 'did you ever see yourself engaged?' Ben participates in the live.

"So I never wanted to get married but about two weeks ago I was thinking about what I was going to get you for our anniversary. Then I stayed over at your apartment and I looked for cearal. Guess what I found? Wedding magazines. I was like okay the girl is just dreaming. Then later that day I went home before I had to go to the theatre. I went through who you follow on Instagram and saw like ten wedding accounts. I then put down my phone and was like okay I'm done I'm going to propose. In other words, I never wanted to not... commit to a relationship but like never get married."

Laura grins, her eyes filling up with tears. "Oh my god, that's so sweet."

"I know it is. I love you." He said taking a sip of wine.

"In all seriousness if it was up to me. I would never get married."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Oh and were you actually looking at wedding dressing and stuff?"

"What? Of course I was, Ben." Laura stops the Instagram live and tosses her phone aside. "I've dreamed of my wedding for so long, and don't even wanna get married?"

"Listen, I kind of did but I kind of didn't. It was like, I wasn't sure than after twelve hours of thinking. I thought it was a good idea." He said as his dog hopped on his lap. Not surprisingly his dog was named Beyonce, and Laura gave the dog to him as a present for winning a Tony.

"You only thought about this for twelve hours?" Laura gapes at him.

"Well I thought about it for longer than that. But I thought about how to propose to you for twelve hours."

"But I locked myself in a dark room and thought about weather I should marry you or not." He paused looking at her. "I never pictured myself finding someone like you. Who knows me better than myself, someone who loves me unconditionally, and someone who understands me."

All of Laura's doubt melts away as she listens to Ben speak. "God, I just love you so much, Ben!"

"I love you too, Laura more than you even know." He said pulling her a little closer.

"And I can't wait to finally be your wife."

"I can't wait to be your husband." He paused getting ready to tell her something. "So a few days ago, I called your dad us telling him I would propose to you. He said that we were too young like my parents did. He said that if you said yes you were no longer his daughter. Then your mom called me back and said that she didn't care, but if we did she wouldn't attend. If you want to cry or yell, it's fine." He said honestly trying to protect her.

He saw her face melt and her body land into his arms. She started to cry as much as she could. She couldn't believe that her own father would do that.

"Why are our parents so unsupportive?" Laura cries, her hands clutching the back of his tee shirt.

"Honestly..I..don't know." He said hating go see her so upset.

"This is not the way today should be going."

"I know we should be happy and be supported by our families."

"So what are you gonna do? Are we just gonna get married without either of our families there?" Laura wonders, completely helpless.

"Laura, what I do know is that my siblings support us. One more thing, we have friends that are basically our second family."

Laura nods. "I guess so. I just want our parents to support us like the others do."

"Laura, do you still want to get married where we first met?"

"Of course I do."

"When do you want to get married?"

"I just want you, that's all. I couldn't care less when we have a wedding. We could get married now for all I care! I just wanna be your wife, Ben."

"Okay I feel the same way about you. For the record if I could I would marry you right now."

"So why don't we go get married then?" Laura crazily suggests. "Let's go sign some papers and get married!"

"Laura, no I want our wedding to be special."

"It will be special, Ben. It'll be special because it'll be about nothing but our love for each other. It'll be just you and me, celebrating our love."

"I really don't like this idea."

Laura sighs. "Alright, alright. We don't have to get married now."

"How about like a year?"

"A year sound perfect." Laura grins, nodding.

"Perfect."

Laura grins and giggles as she bounces into the bedroom, catching Ben's attention. "A week, baby! A week until we finally get married!"

"Mhmm." He said staring down at his phone.

"Well you seem excited." Laura teases, jumping on the bed with him. "What'cha doing on your phone, huh?"

"Oh just texting Will."

"Well, alright then." Laura shrugs, not wanting to pry. She settles in beside him, resting her head on his chest.

"Hey, what time is it?" He said putting down his phone, so he could have his time with Laura.

"Almost three.""Oh shit, I have to go." He cursed himself.

"What?" Laura gasps, feeling defeated and lonely as Ben jumps off the bed. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going out on a late lunch with Skylar and Anna." He said fixing his hair and clothes. He was going out to lunch with two of his Pitch Perfect co-stars, some of his best friends.

"Oh, um, okay. Well, have fun." Laura half heartedly smiles at him.

"I'll be back later, probably late."

Laura nods. "Okay." She puts on a brave face as Ben leans over to kiss her.

He kissed her and ran out the door.

Laura went over to her best friend's house, Elizabeth Judd. Elizabeth was also her Maid Of Honnor.

"Hey Liz." Laura grins, hugging her friend.

"I have a question for you." She paused and sat down with her. "Do you think things would be a little easier if both of your parents, yours and his approved of your marriage?"

Laura sighs, nodding. "Of course. None of our parents are even coming to the wedding. I don't even have anyone to walk me down the aisle. It's stressful."

"But are you excited for the wedding?"

"Yeah. It's gonna be so amazing!"

"Is there anyone whose coming to the wedding that's like a father figure to you?"

"Well, Micheal Park is coming."

"That's kind of perfect." She laughed

"I guess you're right. I mean, he's my stage dad and he's been more of a dad to me than my actual dad in the past year."

"Do you ever miss the theatre and Dear Evan Hansen?"

"All the time. That cast is genuinely my second family. I miss everything about that show."

"You get to spend more time with Ben though."

"I know." Laura nods. "And I love spending time with Ben, don't get me wrong. But it's different. When we're all together, it's always just so much fun and I miss that."

"Would you ever go back?"

Elizabeth asked a little curious.

"I think so. If I had the time, and I signed a contract, I'd definitely go back. Being in that show was the time of my life." Laura explains nonchalantly.

"What do you mean when you say if you had the time?"

"Life is just crazy, Elizabeth. I mean, I'm getting married in a week. Ben and I have to worry about that. Then there's the honeymoon, and still, we have to worry about our parents not approving of this. Life is just very stressful."

"Life is stressful for everyone. So..where are you going on your honeymoon?"

Laura smiles a bit. "Ben planned the honeymoon. He won't tell me where it is. But I'm excited to just spend some quality time with him as a married couple."

"How long will you be away for?"

"A week and a half, I believe."

"Are you going to stay off your phone during your honeymoon?"

Laura laughs. "Well, of course, I will. Ben's always on his damn phone though."

"He can't always be on his phone."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it does feel that way."

"So he's probably going to have his face in his phone the whole time."

"I'll break the damn thing if I have to. I don't want to have a stressful honeymoon because he's worrying about everything that's going on at home. I don't want that. I'll make sure he's not on his phone the whole time." Laura laughs, sounding joking but is being actually serious.

"You're so kind and loving. He might sneak his phone."

"He better not." Laura remarks

"Is he allowed to he on his phone at all?"

"Well, yeah. But Ben is constantly using his phone and I don't want that. Our honeymoon is supposed to be about us celebrating our marriage. I don't want him to throw that away because he's always on his phone. Then I ask him what he's doing, and he either lies or just laughs it off. It's just frustrating, and I don't want that stress on my honeymoon. You get what I'm saying, Liz?"

"Yes, I understand. But he can't always 24/7 be on his phone. I don't understand why he would lie." She said not wanting to say the idea that Ben could be cheating.

"Well, I don't know about 24/7. I don't know why he lies either." Laura shrugs, sighing. She's gone through the argument many times with Ben, and he always claims he never lies.

"Laura, are you genuinely happy with your life?"

"Of course I'm happy. I've done work on Broadway, and on tv. I have an amazing fiancé, who will be my husband in a week. What more could I even want?" As soon as Laura speaks those words, she doesn't quite believe them herself.

"Laura, I feel like you're having second thoughts. I think that even if you were, Ben and everyone else would want what's best for you."

"Getting married to Ben is what's best for me." Laura tries to convince herself, but ultimately fails. Realizing she can't keep up with this, she groans and buries her face in her hands. Tears well up in her eyes. "In the worst person ever. I've been lying to everyone about this, even myself."

"Laura look at me..Do you want to marry him or not?"

"Elizabeth, I don't even know anymore. I love Ben, I really do. But there's something in me that's just holding me back and I don't know what it is." Laura cries, lunging into her friends arms.

"Do you think he would understand if you didn't want to get married?" She asked comforting her friend.

"I'm scared to tell him, Liz. I don't want this to be the thing that breaks us up for good." Laura admits, wiping her cheeks free of tears.

"Is it because you don't 100% trust him?"

"Maybe. I think so." Laura shrugs. "I've just been struggling with this for so long."

"Why don't you go call him and head home and you two can work this out?"

Elizabeth suggested

"I guess so. That's the best idea." Laura nods, texting Ben and saying they need to talk at home.

About thirty minutes later they had sat down to talk. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Ben, I don't know how to tell you this." Laura sighs, closing her eyes. It feel as though she's choking on the words she's trying to spit out.

"Laura, I understand if you want to break up. I've thought about it before..we fight all the time. Over the dumbest things."

Laura's eyes widen. "W-What? You wanna break up? You've thought about it? Wha-"

"That was like three months ago. I didn't tell you..I was having second thoughts."

"I am too." Laura admits. "What the hell is wrong with us?"

"Laura, we have a messed up relationship. Here's the thing though..we are in love with each other."

"So what do we do?" Laura asks angrily, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Do we just call off the wedding a week before? Go on with it when we're both unhappy? Everything about this is lose-lose."

"Laura, I'm not ready, I'll never be ready to let go of you or this relationship." He said about to cry as well.

"Then we just keep going on unhappy?"

"No! And I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not always honest with you. This last year our relationship has been a living train wreck. Our relationship is now fucked up, let's face it!" He yelled which is something Ben didn't do often, it was usually Laura. It took Laura by surprise, and she was in shock.

"What do you mean you're not always honest?" Laura's voice is weak now.

"So you know how my parents hate our relationship? My siblings hacked my bank account and have stolen money off from me. That's why I'm always on my phone.

"O-Oh my god. Ben! Why didn't you tell me that?" Laura gasps.

"I didn't know how to tell you!" He said pacing around the room, getting an anxiety attack.

"Ben, please, look at me." Laura runs over and grabs his cheeks. "It's okay, we're gonna be okay, I promise. Just take a breath."

He took a deep breath and hugged her and held a really right grip.

"I know this all sucks. And I'm so sorry." Laura apologizes, holding him tightly.

"What happened was. About a week after we got engaged they started taking fifteen dollars at a time out of my bank account. They hired people to do that, I guess they figured that if less and less money had come out. We wouldn't have enough money for the wedding and other things. Laura, if I had it my way almost every single moment of my day would be with you."

"So what do we do now? Call off the wedding because we can't pay? Call the police? Just go on with our lives with this bullshit." Laura groans, wiping the tears off Ben's cheeks.

"Laura, yesterday the people who they hired got put in jail."

"That's great! So what happens now? Do we get your money back or just have to move on?"

"It doesn't really matter because, it didn't turn out to be that much."

Laura sits back in a chair at the kitchen table. "So where do we go from here?"

"Maybe..we just be a normal couple?" He suggested sitting down next to her.

"Do we even know what this is?" Laura asks helplessly. "We've never been a normal couple, Ben."

"Not normal, but not fighting all the time."

"Oh and you just think that now that your money isn't being stolen that all our problems are gonna be resolved? Because, I'm sorry, but that's not how life works." Laura snaps at him.

"This is what I'm talking about! But I do get what you're saying, but we have a little less problems." He said then he said in his head tell her what you've been thinking which was a mistake. "I'm starting to not want to be with you anymore! Maybe right now isn't the time for us! Maybe, just maybe there will never be a time for us!"

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't be together." Laura shouts, turning on her heel and running to the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

He got really mad and was crying a little. He was really mad not just himself just the way the universe was working out.

Laura went into the bedroom and saw Ben's phone. She unlocked the phone and looked through it. She found that everything he told her was 100% true. She felt bad that she'd put this idea in his head that they shouldn't be together.

She breaks down in tears, holding the phone to her chest. "I've ruined everything." She says to herself. "I'm gonna lose him forever. I've messed up everything!"

He's thinking to himself in the living room that he's screwed up and that their relationship will never repair.

"Ben?" His head snaps around to find Laura sheepishly walking towards him, his phone in her hands.

"Yeah?" He asked as his head popped up.

"I'm sorry." Laura blurts out before she can think about it any more.

"I'm sorry as well." He admits

"I don't want this to be the thing that breaks us apart forever. I love you, Ben. And we have our ups and downs, but I never, ever wanna leave you."

"I love you too Laura and I never want to leave you as well."

Laura rushes over to the couch and curls up beside him, holding him tightly. "I wish we could be normal. No fighting, no second thoughts on getting married. I just want to love you without any of the pain that come with it."

"No problems, just a perfect relationship. But that's not a thing. Every relationship has ups and downs. I have a feeling that we're not through with all of them."

"Do you still wanna marry me, Ben?"

"Of course I want to marry you. I've wanted to marry you for a long time."

"I don't want to go into this marriage with any secrets, or lies." Laura remarks, wanting to completely clear the air.

"I'll do that do my best ability."

"I do have one thing to admit thought." Laura starts, making Ben look concerned. "Do you remember last month when I blamed Mike Faist for eating the last snickerdoodle? It was actually me."

"That sounds like you." He said as a smile grew on his face.

Laura grins, resting her forehead against Ben's. "I love you so much, Ben. And I can't wait to be your wife."

"How would you feel about having an romantic evening?" He asked pulling her closer to him a little.

"That sounds absolutely amazing." Laura grins, nodding.

"What do you want to do?"

"Why don't we crack open a bottle of wine, make some dinner together, and just talk? Just like old times." Laura suggests, reaching up to fix Ben's messed up hair.

"That sounds perfect and don't touch my hair."

Laura giggles, but pretends to be hurt and pouts. "Fine then."

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Let's get crazy and make our own pizza."

"You're crazy."

"I'm well aware, love." Laura laughs, standing and holding her hands out for him. "Come on. Let's get started!"

"I don't like cooking." He fake pouts

"I'll be here to help you." Laura reassures, pressing her lips to his cheeks. "Get some flour."

After they had made the Pizza they were on the couch and each had a glass of wine and the bottle was on the table. Most couples would sit at a table, but they didn't want to do that.

"Do you ever miss Dear Evan Hansen?" Laura wonders, setting her glass down after taking a sip.

"Yes, so much."

"Would you ever go back?"

"Yes, why?"

Laura smiles. "Me and Elizabeth were talking about it earlier today. It made me really miss being on stage and performing."

"Maybe we could go back sometime later this year."

"Do you think we could? I would die to do that!"

"Yes, I think we can."

"I can't wait." Laura grins at Ben, who's smiling back. "I just want to get back on stage so bad!"

"On a different note. I'm going to tell you where we're going on our Honeymoon."

Laura's eyes light up. "Really? Tell me!"

"It's somewhere that you love. Long Island Beach." He said and Laura's face lit up. He knew that she wanted to once they had decided to have a family she wanted to move up there. He thought even though it's a few years away, that she would love to stay there. It was also like one of her favorite places in the world.

"Seriously? Oh my god, Ben! I'm so excited!" Laura squeals, hugging him tightly.

He hugged back, "You need to calm down."

"That's my favorite place in the world, Ben! It's my dream to live there one day!"

"I know that, you've mentioned that."

"Jesus, now I just wanna skip the wedding and go straight to the honeymoon." Laura grins teasingly.

He laughed at her and kissed her on her forehead.

"And to think, a few hours ago we wanted to call off this wedding."

"Yeah I know."

"And now I can't see myself not being with you." Laura tells him.

A few days later, it was the day of the wedding and Laura was with the girls and she was freaking out.

"Laura, I understand you're stressed but he's not going to not say I Do." Oliva explains to her.

"How do you know? Has he told everyone he's gonna leave me at the alter?!" Laura cries out.

"Laura, he loves you everyone knows this. This time tomorrow you will be with him, married."

Laura falls onto a couch, burying her face in her hands. "So much has gone wrong, I can't stand this anymore."

The other girls where confused why she was this upset.

"I can't do it." Laura finally decides, standing. "I can't get married. I can't!"

They all look at her in straight up shock.

"Laura, why don't you want to get married?" Elizabeth asks her kindly.

"We don't have enough trust!" Laura blurts out. "I'm always freaking out about this!"

"Do you want to get married?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" Laura is speaking quickly, now pacing around the room, running her fingers through her unstyled hair.

"Laura, relax! What is going on?!"

"Everything just seems all wrong! Our families aren't even here! Who gets married without their family?!" She exclaims, tears streaming down her cheeks now.

"Laura, some people do! That's not what's important. Two questions matter. Do you love him? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Elizabeth asked trying to calm her down.

"I do love him, and I do wanna spend the rest of my life with him." Laura says, resisting all of Elizabeth's attempts to calm her.

"Then why don't you want to get married?!"

"I just have a feeling that something is wrong. Something is gonna get messed up and me and Ben are gonna fight and this whole marriage is gonna implode before it even starts!"

"But do you want to give it a shot?"

"Marriage isn't something you can just try out, Elizabeth. It's not something you can buy at a store, then return the next day if you don't like it. No! Marriage is supposed to last forever!" Laura is practically shouting now, but she can't seem to control her emotions, or her voice volume.

"Laura, I understand that but do you want to? Your wedding is litrially in ten freakin' hours!"

"C-Can I talk to Ben?"

A few minutes later Ben and Laura were in a small room and were getting ready to talk.

"I'm sorry." Laura apologizes immediately.

"About what?"

"That I'm still having doubts. That I'm not being a good girlfriend for you. That I'm probably the worst person you've ever met in your life, and I'm probably ruining your life." Laura babbles on, feeling herself start to cry again.

"Laura, you're the best girlfriend I could ask for. You're the best thing that's currently in my life, and the best thing that's ever come into my life. You're far, far from ruining my life." He said holding her face.

"Then why am I not convinced that I should be walking down the aisle tonight? Ben, why am I feeling like this?"

"Because your family isn't here."

Laura sighs, pulling away from Ben. "This is terrible."

"What's terrible?"

"This whole situation." She remarks. "It's terrible, and fucked up, and I hate how confused I always am."

"Do you want to get married? Yes or No?" He asked her calmly.

"Ben, I don't know anymore. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"You're fine. But is something else wrong."

Laura shakes her head, unable to even form words anymore.

"Laura, what's wrong?" He asked stroking her hair.

"I don't- I don't think I can do this."

"Do you want to break up?"

"I don't wanna break up, Ben. I just think that neither of us are ready to be married." Laura tries to explain herself, but knows that Ben is not believing what she's saying and is getting annoyed and angry.

"I-uh can't do this either..maybe It's best that we break up."

Laura's eyes widen. "Is that what you want?"

"I don't know! Now our relationship is destroyed! I think what destroyed our relationship is took vacations, but they were never with each other. We never really spent any real time together. Think about it. We were always presenting our relationship to the world, and not focusing on the fact that we needed more time together and it was just us and nothing else."

Laura wants to disagree. She wants to take back everything she's said and beg for forgiveness. But she can't. In her mind, she knows that everything Ben has spoken is absolutely true. She knows he's right, and there's nothing she can do or say to change that.

"I love you so much, but maybe right now we aren't in the time or place for our relationship."

"Okay." Laura whispers, shakily standing and walking towards the door.

He felt so bad about what he'd just done. He didn't even bother go ask her for the ring becuase, he wanted a peice of now their former, no longer existing relationship.

Laura had never felt like this before. She had never felt so broken that the pain fades away to pure numbness. She didn't know what to do with herself.

Two years later, both of them had gone on to do greater and better things. Even though they'd both gained separate success they were both very depressed. They never dated, just a little bit of hope that they would come back to each other. They both promised themselves that they would never date again. Both of them thought if they got married and what their life would be like.

Laura can see herself walking down the aisle, no doubt. She wants to see Ben's grinning face at the alter, Michael Park escorting her down the aisle. She wants to sing and giggle through their first dance as husband and wife, and she wants to spend a week and a half in Long Island Beach with Ben.

He always had regretted that, but he realizes that their relationship would be miserable most likely if they'd married.

But both have a longing to see each other. To hold each other, to kiss, to laugh, to enjoy life again. Even if just for one night.

All the sudden he'd visited the city and had bumped into someone. It was none other than Laura Dreyfuss. He didn't realize it at first, but then he took a look and saw her.

"O-Oh, Ben!" Laura exclaims, grinning. "Hi!"

"Hi! How are you?" He smiled with the biggest grin in the world.

"I'm okay." Laura responds, her voice faltering. "And you?"

"I've been better."

"Yeah, I get that." Laura laughs nervously. "Do you- um, maybe now that you're in town, wanna come over one night? We could just catch up, like old times."

"Yeah, actually that sounds perfect."

"What time?"

He asked nervously.

"Or if tonight doesn't work that's fine. I'm in town for the next week."

"No, tonight works." Laura quickly says. "I got a new number. Let me give it to you. Is six good for you? I can cook, I know you don't like cooking."

"Uh..yeah six is great for me actually."

"Good." Laura nods, asking for Ben's phone. She plugs in her new phone number for him.

"So..I'll see you then."

Laura rushes home. She cleans every single nook and cranny of her apartment. She wants the entire place to feel perfect for when Ben comes over.

At 5:57, he knocked on the door. He was really, really happy. He'd been dreaming of that day for the past two years of his life.

Laura squeals when she hears the knock on the door, rushing over. She reminds herself to take deep breaths before swinging open the door. "Hi Ben."

"Hi Laura." He laughed as he didn't want to bring up the fact that he heard up the fact that he'd just heard her squeal.

"Come in, come in. I just started making dinner." Laura explains, leading him into the kitchen.

He sat on the bar stool which made him across from her.

"So how has the last few years been, Ben? I know you're doing well with the acting and such." Laura says, doing her best not to act awkward or anything of the sort.

"It's been fine and kind of boring."

He said not trying to add the fact that he was a little depressed himself

"Boring? What's boring about traveling the world and getting to do what you love? Getting to sing and act everywhere." Laura asks, pulling out two plates.

"It just didn't make me happy. That's what made it boring."

Laura sits down across from him. She has the urge to grab his hand or to kiss his cheek, but pushes it away. "But why? That's your passion."

"I honestly don't know."

"What about you? How's your life?"

"Pretty good, I guess." Laura responds. "I've done some theater here and there. Nothing too grand though."

He laughed a little. "I have a story for you. So I was in California about two weeks ago. I was with a few of my friends at a table and we were all very invested in our phones. My friend Colleen, one of my best friends. Comes out walks past everyone, and gets to me. She slams my phone on the table, it's shattered then, she throws it in the water. She finds it then gets it fixed, I felt bad because it costed her 500 dollars."

"I think me and this Colleen could get along." Laura jokes, standing again to tend to the food.

"I don't why I never told you about her."

"I'm not sure either." Laura's voice wanders off, confused as to what he means.

"So is there anything you want to talk about?"

"How's your family?"

"I don't know."

Laura whips around. "Y-You don't know? What does that mean?"

"I haven't spoken to them. The last time I spoke to them was when my brother texted me. It's a good thing you broke up with her becuase, she's a whore."

Laura's eyes widen. "Oh my god. I had no idea!"

"Yeah I know. It was bad."

"What about you and your family?"

"Um, I guess they've come around a bit. They're not as distant as they were, but we're not as close as we were." Laura vaguely explains.

"At least you have a fairly good relationship with your family."

Laura sighs. "Listen Ben. I'm really sorry about your family. I mean, it is my fault. I wish there was something I could do."

"It's not really your fault."

"It is though, Ben. You said your brother called me a whore. If you'd never been with me, you'd still be close with your family."

"Laura, I don't regret being close with you. If they cared about me they would've respected my life decisions."

"Okay, okay." Laura nods. "I don't really wanna talk about this. You came to have a good night with no stress."

"Is there anything else stressful you want to talk about? Becuase there's a lot that's still unresolved between us."

"I know their is, Ben."

"Let's talk about it."

She groans, squeezing her eyes. "You've admitted to being secretive and not honest, but you've never told me what about or why."

"I wasn't 100% honest becuase, I'm scared to tell you some things. I didn't know how to tell you some things."

"You don't have to scared to tell me things, Ben." Laura encourages. "Just tell me."

"I don't remember what they were."

Laura sighs. "Ben, seriously?"

"It's been two years."

"Benjamin, do you know how frustrating this is for me? I've been missing you two years. I've been so depressed without you!"

"I've been waiting to see you for two years. I've also been depressed, it was hard not having you in my life."

"I've always been completely honest with you. Why can't you do the same thing?" Laura asks, completely ignoring dinner and getting lost in the argument.

"I only lied about the money and that's it. Other than that it's just really, really dumb things."

Laura laughs sarcastically. "Oh, so you think that lying to me is dumb?"

"No, they were things that really didn't matter to me."

"Okay, fine, Ben." Laura is ready to drop the conversation there.

"Is there anything else you want to know?"

"What made you realize that we had to break up?" She asks meekly. "What was the moment that you realized we couldn't keep going like that?"

"Seeing you crying and upset about the wedding. I decided in that moment that if we married at that time we would've been misrible. And..we would end up hating each other."

"So you did that so I could be happy?"

"Yes becuase I care about you. I've thought about ever since the day we broke up."

"Ben, I just- I don't even know what to say to you." Laura murmurs, her face covered by her shaking hands.

"Is that good or bad?"

"Both, I guess."

He laughed.

"I'm just so confused, Ben. I'm confused about our families, I'm confused about where we are. I've been confused for two years straight and I just don't know what to do." Laura explains, lifting her head.

"I honestly don't know where we are either."

"Well do you still wanna be with me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Even after all this time?" Laura keeps talking. "Even after all the heartbreak, the disapproval?"

"Laura, I freakin' love you more than you even know. I would do anything to be with you."

"Do you think we could get be a happy couple again?" Laura wonders, her eyes tearing up.

"I think we could be. Don't cry."

"Ben, I wanna be with you too. I love you so much. I'm just scared of getting hurt again." Laura confesses.

"Maybe we could try it."

"But we have to promise to be faithful, and to always be honest."

"Promise."

"I promise too."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Ben!"

The next day Laura had lunch with Kristoyln. Laura was going to tell Kristoyln about her and Ben.

"Hey Kristolyn!" Laura grins, hugging her friend.

"Hey Laura! How are you?" She said sitting down across from her friend.

"I'm so many things." She laughs. "I'm happy, I'm busy, I'm in love, I'm-"

Kristoyln quickly caught on. "How'd you run into Ben?"

"Just by chance on the street." Laura tells her. "But we spent the night together last night and kinda just talked everything out. We realized that we can't live without each other."

"Aww, that's so sweet."

"And I really think this time is gonna be different. It feels different already."

"Are you going to move out of city with him? As in are you going to love to Long Island Beach?"

"It's my dream to live there. But I don't wanna move too fast with Ben. I wanna do this right." Laura tells her.

"Plus he's always traveling."

"Exactly. I really think Ben and I are gonna work this time. I don't wanna mess that up because I wanna live on Long Island Beach."

"Maybe if you two are really happy in a year."

"Yeah, maybe."

"I think this will make your life better, actually a lot better."

"I know it will. I'm finally gonna get to be happy." Laura can barely remember what it's like to feel completely happy with her life.

"This will probably make him happy. You know sometimes the more success someone gets the more misrible they get. He might just need that thing, you might just be that thing."

"I hope. I want him to be just as happy as I know he can be. The last thing I want is for him to be miserable."

About a year later, they'd both put a hold on their careers. They had moved out to Long Island Beach. They had a pretty big home on the outside, but it was sort of big on the inside. They didn't have any neighbors. It was right by a dock,so they were directly near the ocean.

Laura absolutely loves their new home. She loves waking up to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and most importantly, loves waking up next to Ben every day.

Ben liked the peacefulness of it. He loved the fact that his girlfriend was happy, he was happy. At this moment in time their relationship was at a good place where they didn't need to get engaged or married. What they needed was, to be happy and just be with each other.

One morning, Laura wakes up to a cold bed, which is unusual. She's usually awake before Ben. There's a cup of hot coffee for her on the bedside table. She grabs the cup, wandering towards the balcony that's connected to the bedroom. She finds Ben leaning over the banister, watching the waves. "Morning, handsome."

"Morning beautiful." He said turning around and kissing her softly on the lips.

"What are you doing out of bed, hmm? I'm always up before you." Laura wonders, holding the warm coffee in her cold hands.

"I just woke up early and felt like moving?" He guessed, he didn't really know why.

"You don't seem so sure, love." Laura sets the mug down, walking over and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Talk to me, what's going on?"

"Laura, I promise you nothing's going on."

"Okay." Laura nods, smiling. Over the past year, she's really learned how to trust Ben. And this is one of those times. A few years ago, she'd freak out because he's keeping something from her. But now, she knows he'd never lie. "Now come downstairs with me. I'm hungry and in the mood for waffles."

He smiles and follows her. "Laura, I'm not making you waffles." He said laughing once they were on the main level.

"Well, duh. You hate cooking. I'll make them."

Before he'd gotten the chance to respond. Their dog Beyonce came up to Ben, he picked her up. She was four and a beagle. Laura had gotten her for him when he'd won his Tony. It was now 2021 and she was just a puppy when Laura got her for Ben, four years prior.

"God, I love that dog." Laura giggles.

"She's so sweet."

"Would you ever wanna get another dog?" Laura asks as she starts making waffle batter.

"Yes!" He said about to bounce off of a wall.

"What kind would you want?" Laura asks. "I'd get another."

"I think we should get another beagle so it feels equal."

Laura laughs, nodding. "Whatever you want, love. I like beagles."

"I love them too. They're so sweet, but hyper."

"Maybe we can go later today or tomorrow and find a shelter." Laura suggests.

"That sounds good becuase, I think that she needs a friend."

"Don't want little Yonce to be lonely." Laura smiles, scratching the dog behind her ear.

The dog then licked Laura. "She's adorable."

"I'm actually excited to get another." Laura laughs

"Laura, do you think we're in a good place in our relationship?"

The question catches her off guard. "I think we are. Do you?"

"Yeah I think we are too."

"Good." Laura grins, nodding at him. "Waffles are done."

He smiled and put the dog down and sat down at the table across from her.

"Here." Laura sets a plate on front of Ben, smiling.

"So do you wanna go to a shelter today, or wait another few days?" Laura asks as they both begin eating.

"I don't really care. Whatever you want to do." He said after taking a bite.

"I think we should go out today, and bring Yonce with us." Laura suggests, the beagle barking in agreement, making both of them laugh.

"Well clearly the jury has spoken." He said in a jokingly manner.

"After we finish eating, we can go!"

"I think we should go to that animal shelter downtown and go look at some dogs!"

"That sounds nice. While we look, we should leave her in the car. If we find a dog we love, we can see how she deals."

"Sounds great." Laura grins.

About three hours later the two of them got another beagle. Her name was, Kara and she and Beyonce got along very well. Ben and Laura had fallen in love with Kara, named after Kara Lindsey. Ben and Laura snuggled on the couch while the two dogs played.

"Kara's an energetic one." Laura laughs as Kara and Beyoncé chase each other around the coffee table.

"I know and she's only a year younger."

"I think this was a good idea to expand our family." Laura teases.

"I love you, so much." He said kissing her forehead which made her blush.

"I love you too." She murmurs, her cheeks bright pink.

 **hope y'all enjoyed this, there's a bunch more on my wattpad @laurasplatt**


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